How To Destroy Your Video Strategy In One Step

According to Cisco, the number of those who watch online video is set to double, reaching 1.5 billion users by 2016. In addition, the use of online video for business purposes is also projected to see growth, from internal training videos to content marketing. As a result, we are seeing an increased number of companies using video as a way to connect with their internal and external audiences because of its convenient and user-friendly nature.

Although video is a popular medium, the way producers create quality content needs to be thoroughly researched, not only in terms of audience members, but also in terms of trends. Most importantly, content creators actually have to do some legwork and avoid some mistakes that, by themselves, could derail an entire video campaign.

Read on for a few mistakes employers should keep in mind when developing business video.

Videos without mobile capabilities Many smartphone and tablet users use their devices to watch video-in fact, the majority of tablet users watch video on their devices, and there's been a 34 percent increase of users accessing video on their smartphones over the past year. If businesses don't take this trend into account, content creators are losing out on a way to connect with their target market, and employees are losing out on the opportunity to work, learn, and catch up on work while on the go.

Instead: Ensure all videos are created with mobile capabilities to best meet the needs of an increasingly mobile workforce. Employers should make a point to confirm that the content can be viewed on any device that supports HTML5 or Flash.

No collaboration features The Internet has changed the way we communicate-it's increased the need and desire to get information fast, and subsequently, the desire to share and collaborate with others. When businesses don't consider adding video collaboration features, viewers cannot communicate with each other, discuss content, share ideas, or gain insight from their peers. This may lead to viewers going to other sources, meaning they may have to bring the conversation to social media sites, forums, or blogs instead of keeping it all on your platform. Or, they could seek out other companies or your competitors who enable collaboration.

Instead: Make a point to include any collaboration feature which can add value to your video. Also, provide a communication tool to your audience, such as chat, threaded discussions, surveys, or linked content. Provide viewers with all the tools they need so they can engage with others.

Not analyzing sentiment Sentiment can show subject experts how their audience members feel about the content. Sentiment can typically be classed as positive, negative, and neutral. Not analyzing sentiment can lead producers to create the wrong kind of content — content not based on the preference of the audience, such as making videos that are too long or not providing enough information for the viewers.

Instead: Analyze what the overall attitude is around your videos. Assess whether the sentiment is overly positive or negative, delve in the comments, interact with users, and use your findings to create videos that are more customized.

No call to action Calls to action (CTA) allow viewers to follow up with the content creator. CTAs can be a question, an external link, contact information, social networking handles, surveys, give-aways, or anything else that invites the viewer to engage. Not including a CTA decreases the purpose and the shelf-life of a video, because it leaves nothing for the viewer to go to once the viewing is over. Disregarding CTAs can also leave the content creator with little feedback, because users aren't encouraged to give any in the first place.

Instead: Add CTA messages at the end of the video so viewers have a way to discuss their thoughts with the subject expert and other viewers. Respond to CTA messages in a timely manner so users feel part of the conversation.

Jodi Wilkinson is the co-founder and Vice President of Products at KZO Innovations, a video software company that provides an on-demand video platform for small to large enterprises and government customers. Connect with Jodi and KZO Innovations on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.